The Art of HappinessHis Holiness the Dalai Lama, Howard C. Cutler

I remember when my dad was in the hospital after a minor stroke. My mom, sister and I were so worried about him. We stayed in the hospital with him by his side to make sure he was okay.

We all ended up going home to get some rest after a day or two of not sleeping. We were tired.

After resting we went back to the hospital to check on my dad and he had checked himself out of the hospital and was super mad at the nurses and doctors there. I was sick to my stomach.

We see him outside and I’m so upset and I tell him to get into my car. I even think he told me he wanted to smoke! Really? After having a stroke? I couldn’t take it.

I drove them all home and left because i needed to be alone. I had to do something about the fact that my dad’s stroke was affecting me and he didn’t even care. Why did I care so much if he didn’t care about how he was making us feel?

I decided to drive to one of my peaceful places, Borders. I think they went out of business but they were open during that time. I go into Borders and buy this Audiobook. I needed something positive and this is what i chose.

I got myself a cup of coffee at Starbucks and went to my car and since i did not want to go back home, I stayed in my car for the duration of the audiobook.

The Dalai Lama helped me re-focus my energy. I was so frustrated and felt angry at my dad. After listening to this audiobook and the wisdom of The Dalai Lama it helped me see things differently. I started focusing more on me and less on my dad.

Happiness takes work. You must be determined to be happy. You can have so many things in your life that can cause you pain and suffering but it is critical for you to be hyperaware of happiness.

Sometimes the people that are closest to you can bring you down and cause you to feel so many emotions like guilt and shame but this is where your mind must take over. Realizing that it is so important for you to take care of you is the key. Without you being okay, it is very hard for you to take care of others. The center of your universe has to be you. Everyone else will benefit from you taking care of you.

“The Dalai Lama is probably one of the only people who, if you ask him if he’s happy, even though he’s suffered the loss of his country, will give you an unconditional “yes.” What’s more, he’ll tell you that happiness is the purpose of life, and the “the very motion of our life is toward happiness.” How to get there has always been the question. He’s tried to answer it before, but he’s never had the help of a psychiatrist to get the message across in a context we can easily understand.

Through meditation, stories, and the meeting of Buddhism and psychology, the Dalai Lama shows us how to defeat day-to-day depression, anxiety, anger, jealousy, or just an ordinary bad mood. He discusses relationships, health, family, work, and spirituality to show us how to ride through life’s obstacles on a deep, abiding source of inner peace. Based on 2,500 years of Buddhist meditations and with a healthy dose of common sense, The Art of Happiness is a program that crosses the boundaries of all traditions to help listeners with the difficulties common to all human beings.” (audible.com)